


You Can't Take The Sky From Me

by FirebirdsDaughter



Category: Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, Kamen Rider Fourze, Kamen Rider OOO, Kamen Rider W (Double), Kamen Rider Wizard
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Blood, Characters will be added as they appear or are mentioned, Drama, Family, Found Family, Friendship, Gunshot Wounds, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Seasons will also be added as their characters appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-02-17 04:03:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13068729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FirebirdsDaughter/pseuds/FirebirdsDaughter
Summary: When theTaJaDorpulls into a seedy, unremarkable port with the intention of collecting some passengers at the behest of it's owner, the Kougami Foundation, the crew is expecting a smooth process.Unfortunately, the people who come on board all have their own secrets--including one that makes the ship a major threat to the intergalactic corporate government, Genm Inc.Suddenly the focal point in a massive power struggle, desperation sets the crew on a journey that sees them accrue more and more misfits as members.And quickly, one thing becomes clear; the only ones this new, reluctant family can trust is...Each other.





	1. Passengers

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea a while ago, and now I'm pissed at Toei for what they did to the OOO boys in FINAL, so here I am posting it.  
> The title is taken from the theme of the tv show Firefly, whose plot served as inspiration for this idea--as anyone who has watched the show will notice.  
> I'm sure I'll add more to the notes as update.
> 
> NOTE: Though I can't claim to be reliable w/ my other works, either, this is gonna update EVEN SLOWER. I'm so sorry. I'll go now.  
> NOTE II: Realised I referenced Akiko and Ryu in the first chapter and didn't tag them. Have since added them to the list.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The _TaJaDor_ pulls into port and his crew goes in search of passengers.  
>  But this time, nothing is what it seems.

     Eiji was asleep when the ship pulled into dock. It wasn’t a big place, and despite Hina’s long lecture about it when Date announced their destination, he couldn’t recall the name. He only awoke because of a light tickling around his nose and mouth—the source of which turned out to be Ankh poking his face with feathers when he opened his eyes.

     The blond scowled sourly at him, but something playful twinkled in his eyes as Eiji brushed little red feathers off his bed. “The ‘Captain’ says ‘all hands on deck,’” He grumbled, “Something about passengers. Like we needed more people on this boat…” Ankh clambered down from where he’d been perching atop the piece of wood that served as a poor headboard for Eiji’s bed, the claws of his monster arm leaving long marks across the grain. He had never told Eiji how he came to have the arm; birdlike talons and glossy red and gold armour edged with rainbow feather designs. Ankh didn’t seem to be impeded by the appendage—in fact, some of his characteristic behaviours accented it rather than trying to hide it, but he’d never spoken about it; and Eiji didn’t want to press him. Now, Ankh was clicking his armoured fingers together impatiently in front of Eiji’s nose. “Hurry up. I’m not going to get scolding for you being late again—so either get a move on, or I’m having the freaky bitch drag you.”

     Despite the name, the only animosity in Ankh’s words was irritability directed at Eiji. While he complained, loudly, about Hina and her exceptional ability regularly, Eiji had noted that much of the original contempt and hostility had steadily disappeared as Ankh got used to her. He might even go as far to say that the blond liked her, but never to Ankh’s face. He’d been struck by the armoured arm before, and wasn’t planning to repeat the experience.

     “I’m coming, I’m coming…” He mumbled, sluggishly tossing the covers aside. The threat, at least, was real—not only **could** Hina toss him over her shoulder like a sack, he didn’t doubt she **would** —and that neither her nor Ankh would bother letting him get dressed first if it came to that. So he dropped his bare feet to the smooth floor of the cabin and began to fumble about for his garments while Ankh retreated to the red-silk covered mattress and pillow pile that served as his bed on the other side of the small room, propped up taller than Eiji’s bed—Ankh seemed to like high places. Of course, the size of the cabin meant that there was the side-effect of being too close to the ceiling to sit up, so the blond just sort of rolled on to his side and lounged there while Eiji suited up. Getting dressed someone else in the room, someone who was now **watching** him and hissing for him to go faster, had taken some getting used to for Eiji, who had always travelled alone until… Well, until Ankh. And then Hina and her brother Shingo, and Gotou, and Chiyoko, and Date, and Satonaka, and…

     And all the other people he’d met after a man with a monster arm saved his life from a creature with pincers and blades. Now he was part of the crew of a space-faring vessel owned by the Kougami Foundation, a small, independent company on the frontier planets—the ones furthest from the galaxy’s centralised government—a small, graceful little bird-esque ship called the _TaJaDor_.

     Ankh didn’t bother waiting until Eiji had both shoes on to seize him by the arm and haul him from the room, stomping angrily.

     In the end, they weren’t the last ones to the cargo bay. That award went to Satonaka, who Eiji suspected had been up since the wee hours preening rather than sleeping as he had. Predictably, their sort of ‘Captain,’ Date, was already there, along with Gotou, the closest thing they had to a first mate. While there weren’t really ‘positions’ aboard the _TaJaDor_ , they each had their own little niche. Date and Gotou were the oldest and most experienced, rivalled in that field only by Satonaka, but she had no interest in running a ship. Instead, she served as the contact for the head of the Kougami Foundation, passing on his requests to the other two. Hina, it turned out, had a shine for mechanics, and was the person who kept the engine running even though the ship had been allegedly on it’s last wings for years. Ankh was the pilot—when the ship wasn’t piloting itself, which the computer could do—and Eiji himself… Well, he was somewhere between an extra pair of hands and a load. Sometimes, he thought that the others only allowed him onboard because they needed a headcount.

     Date let out a customary loud laugh when he saw them, Eiji struggling to shoe his other foot while moving. “Look who finally decided to get out of bed!”

     “Sorry, sorry…” Eiji mumbled in return, finally yanking his arm from of Ankh to finish with his shoe and wave apologetically.

     Hina giggled, coming over to help him steady himself. “As always, Ankh knows best how to wake you up.”

     “All he did was drop feathers on my face.”

     “You’re awake, aren’t you?” The blond snarled grumpily, giving both Hina and Eiji a small laugh at his expense until Satonaka finally entered, head high as a queen’s.

     Date clapped his hands together loudly to get attention. “Alright everyone. We’ll be here for a few hours to refuel and pick up some cargo for the Foundation. Gotou-chan, Satonaka, and I will be taking care of the unloading and maybe getting some supplies while we’re at it.”

     “I’d love some new spring coils!” Hina put in quickly.

     “And I’d love to be a pretty princess,” Date told her. “Parts cost money, which we’re a little short on right now. The old boy’s just going to have to wait until we finish this job.” Hina pouted, but said nothing else, so Date continued. “The Foundation has also,” He nodded towards Satonaka, “Suggested we take on a few passengers here in port.”

     “Why?” Ankh asked suspiciously. “Covering up something illegal?”

     “It will help increase our funds,” Gotou answered, rather than Date, “And the Foundation wants to establish some new connections.”

     “Not going to find any good connections here…” Ankh muttered, but Hina reached over without really looking and pinched his ear so tightly even he shut up.

     “Eiji, Hina,” Date said loudly to reestablish the meeting, “You two are in charge of getting passengers. Ankh, I want you to run a diagnostic on the ship; and, as I said, Satonaka is with us.” The woman in question flicked her hair over her shoulder and smiled wryly. Date clapped his hands once more to indicate the conference was adjourned, and everyone went about their assigned tasks—with only mild complaining on Ankh’s part.

* * *

     Hina spotted the man in the hat because he was walking slowly, standing out amid the hubbub of the rest of the docks. With some careful manoeuvring, she placed herself in his path when he moved past the _TaJaDor_.

     “You’re riding with us.” She announced.

     He looked at her curiously from beneath the brim of his hat. “What makes you so sure of that?”

     “Because you’re not like everyone else here. You’re not looking at the destinations, you’re looking at the ships.”

     “Some times it’s the ride that matters.”

     She laughed loudly before collecting herself. “Seriously? That’s so cheesy, it had to come from a book!”

     He looked vaguely annoyed at that, but didn’t remark on it. “What’s your name then, if I’m riding with you?”

     Hina gave him a bright smile and pretended to salute. “I’m Izumi Hina. What’s your name?”

     For a moment, the man hesitated, as if trying to think of how to answer, then shook his head. “Shoutarou. Hidari Shoutarou.”

     “Well, Shoutarou-san, I think you’ll find the _TaJaDor_ gives the smoothest ride to Totou anyone can buy.” She paused, suddenly remembering the money. “That is… Assuming you **can** buy?”

     He chuckled a little, this time. “Well, I do have a little money, and also…” He hefted one of his bags from his shoulder, pulling out a small burlap sack and opening it, holding it out for her to see inside.

     A grin split Hina’s face from ear to ear and her eyes twinkled. “Oh… Ossan…”

     Shoutarou huffed a little. “I’m not old.”

* * *

     Eiji wasn’t sure why Date had assigned him to passenger-getting, too. He wasn’t exactly particularly gifted interactions with strangers these days—not since the last time, when it ended badly. For everyone.

     He only realised he hadn’t been looking where he was going when he walked headlong into another young man, slightly shorter than him. Eiji immediately went to help pick up the bags that had been dropped, but the man was far more concerned with the condition of a large silver crate he had been carting. Only once he was satisfied that it was undamaged did he go about picking the other things up. There wasn’t much, which surprised Eiji, given the well-tailored suit the man was wearing. At closer look, actually, he didn’t look like he belonged on the dock at all; strangely clean and formal for a place Eiji was coming to realise was known for it’s untowardness.

     The man was quite young, in fact—possibly younger then Eiji himself—and had the kind of face Eiji had once heard Satonaka describe as ‘pretty.’ His hair was almost auburn coloured, though that wasn’t so odd, compared to the blond Ankh. He also looked very uncomfortable, quickly snatching his things back from Eiji, eyes on his black dress shoes and subtly chewing his lip.

     Hesitating for a moment, Eiji held out a hand to shake. “… Hey. I’m Hino Eiji.”

     The man’s eyes darted from his hand to his face, then around at the crowd suspiciously, like he thought this was a set up. Eventually, he apparently decided that it wasn’t, because he responded, “Kagami Hiiro.”

     Hiiro didn’t take the offered hand, so Eiji dropped it back to his side as quickly as he could, not wanting to make things more awkward. “Well, were are you heading? I actually represent a ship bound for Totou that’s taking on passengers, so-”

     “I’m not.” Hiiro cut him off sharply. “I mean… I’m not ‘heading’ anywhere.” His hand drifted slowly over to the crate, resting atop it protectively.

     “So…” Eiji began, trying to sort out what that meant in his mind, “You’re just looking for a ride?”

     “… Something like that.” Hiiro’s speech was still clipped, suspicious.

     Eiji’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. “Well, then we’re the ship for you. We’re small, quiet, and we’re…” He hesitated before continuing, but something in Hiiro’s eyes, a lonely desperation, that made Eiji feel like the man needed to hear the rest. “… We’re family.”

     The word seemed to reverberate with Hiiro, whose gaze moved back to the crate, changing slightly, softening. “… Family, huh?” He murmured softly—wistfully. “… We could go for that.”

     Eiji was proud of himself for a moment, then blinked. “Wait. We?”


	2. Mole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, it's amazing how fast things can be turned on their heads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I lie about how slow this would be? Maybe? I don't know. I just got really excited by the lovely reception it got so I wanted to keep going.  
> See? This is what happens when y'all are so nice about something.  
> This chapter's a little wonky, but all in all I like it.  
> Now I just need to update one of my other works...

     By the time Date, Gotou, and Satonaka returned to the ship, they had a third guest; a scruffy, suited man who had introduced himself as Amino. He was quite talkative and sociable; Hidari was somewhere in between—polite and conversational, but also vague and hyper reserved. Hiiro was the odd duck out, huddled in the corner, fussing over his giant box that he had watched like a hawk while Hina had carried it in (something that had made Hidari’s jaw drop at the ease with which she’d done it). Now he was examining the dials and buttons as if to make sure it weren’t in danger of popping open.

     “So!” Date said loudly, setting the bag he’d had swung over his shoulder heavily on the ground—Hina scurried over to it eagerly. “Who is everyone?”

     Seeing that Ankh had elected to slip on to the catwalk above them from the bridge, Eiji concluded this was the best time for introductions. “Ah, this is Amino-san.” He gestured to the  man, who waved friendlily.

     ‘And, uh, Hidari-san.” Shoutarou tipped his hat politely, then got a distant, distracted look in his eyes like he was listening to something no one else could hear.

     ‘And this is Kagami-san.” Hiiro’s only response was a suspicious glare. Eiji was starting to suspect they’d need to get used to that.

     Turning to the newcomers, he continued. “This Date-san, Gotou-kun, and Satonaka-san. They’re kinda like the authority onboard. And the angry punk guy up there with the arm is Ankh. It’s probably best to avoid him.” Above them, he heard an annoyed sound that was strangely akin to a squawk, but didn’t bother to look.

     Date grinned broadly at them all. “Nice to meet you all. Take an hour to get settled in, then if you don’t mind, we’re gonna have a crew meeting in the common room—Hina and Eiji can show you where that is—to go over the house rules. ’Til then!” With a cheery wave, he gestured to Gotou, and the two headed deeper into the ship after prying Hina out of the bag to take it with them.

     Only Satonaka remained for a moment, gazing curiously at Hidari before walking slowly over to him as he organised his things, leaning against the wall. “… Have we met?” Her starting a conversation with anyone was odd enough to make Hina and Eiji look up and Ankh pause in the process of leaving the balcony.

     For his part, Shoutarou tugged the brim of his hat down again, tilting his head. “I don’t think so, ma’am.” He said carefully. “You could be confusing me with someone else.” Satonaka frowned, but didn’t press the issue, instead turning on her heel and sweeping after the other two. Hidari frowned after her, then shook his head and went back to his things.

     The light tension was then quickly broken by Amino stubbing his toe on his own bag and letting out a yelp, prompting Hina and Eiji to go to help him while Ankh finally fled and the other two looked on.

* * *

     “Primary rule—don’t cause trouble. Crew has kept this ship running for the past six years, and I aim to keep it that way.” The whole group was assembled in the main common room of the living quarters, Date at the head of the room addressing everyone once more. “We eat dinner together at five thirty by the ship’s clock, but all other meals are on you; I trust you were shown where the kitchen is.” There was nodding from Amino and Hidari—Hiiro stayed rigid in the corner. “Other than that, you guys are pretty much free to do as you like; just try not to get under foot. To keep things that way, the engine room, bridge, and cargo bay are off limits. We’ve got enough chaos in those places without civilians getting involved.”

     For the first time since the meeting had started, Kagami stirred. “Some of my personal… Accessories are in the cargo bay.”

     Date merely sighed, but from his elbow, Eiji saw Gotou look at the young man suspiciously. He said nothing when Date responded, however. “Figure you have everything you need up here. If necessary, you can always ask one of the crew to go fetch something. Eiji’s usually free.” Eiji made a face at that comment, but Ankh smacked him on the arm.

     Hiiro didn’t seem too pleased with this answer either, sitting back against the wall and scowling. After waiting a moment to see if anyone else would break in, Date continued. “There has also been a sudden update to our travel plans. We’re still headed for Touto, but the Foundation has been asked to drop off some medical supplies at Omokagedo. It’s on the way.”

     “Asked by who?” It was Hidari this time, though Hiiro also seemed interested, surprisingly. “Genm Corp?”

     “Don’t know didn’t ask.” Date grunted. “It’s possible, but I honestly don’t give a damn. It’s our job.” Hidari nodded thoughtfully. “Anyway, it should only be a short stop. Nothing much.” He clapped his hands again, making Ankh jump and glare at him. “So! That’s all. We should decide who’s preparing dinner tonight!”

     Hina’s hand immediately shot up. “Hidari-san’s helping me with something!” Shoutarou gave a smile and nodded.

     “Well!” Ankh muttered sourly. “Problem solved. I’m out.” He was gone from the room before anyone could stop him. Satonaka left just as quickly but much quieter, and Date and Gotou moved off discussing something with each other. Hina grabbed Hidari by the arm and yanked him toward the kitchen, and Amino tried to head back to the rooms but banged his head on the door frame first, and Eiji went after him to see if he was okay.

     Only Hiiro stayed where he was, looking annoyed.

* * *

     Hina’s ‘something’ turned out to be coffee. Real coffee.

     “Why’d you have a bag of coffee beans?” Gotou wanted to know while trying to keep Date from going for a fourth cup. “Not many people have live produce these days.”

     “A friend of mine was really into… Alternate brewing methods. She used to stock up on all sorts of odd bean types; before we left, she handed me a giant sack of them. Personally, I think her husband just told her she couldn’t keep storing them all in the house.”

     “We?” Asked Satonaka, who had been nursing the same mug since the beginning of supper.

     Hidari paused halfway through ladling the mush that looked like potatoes but didn’t smell like them onto his plate, getting the distracted look on his face again before answering. “I… I was travelling with someone. For a while. He’s… It’s just not like that anymore.”

     Seeing that the older man was uncomfortable with the topic, Eiji decided to change the subject—and try to drag the previously silent Hiiro in, as well. “Are you some kind of doctor?” When the young man looked sharply at him, he rushed to explain. “I saw a medical bag with your things.”

     Hiiro’s lips twisted, but to Eiji’s relief, he responded. “Surgeon.” He told them quietly, continuing to poke at the foodstuffs on his plate.

     Silence followed that, so Date asked, “Any good?”

     Hiiro’s head shot up suddenly, as if he were offended, but the conversation was interrupted when Amino capsized his plate on to his lap. In the commotion that followed, the young doctor slipped out back to the living quarters.

     Over the clamour of Hidari and Hina trying to help Amino while Ankh retreated further into his chair, trying to keep his own clothing safe, Eiji saw Gotou lean over to Date. “… He’s making me nervous.”

     “Who?” Date’s genuinely confused tone got an eyeroll.

     “The doctor. You ever seen a box like that before? And he’s a little jumpy for my liking.”

     “You sure you’re not just being paranoid, Gotou-chan?”

     Eiji would have sworn that Gotou’s ears turned pink. “I told you never to call me that in public!” But Date just let out a hearty laugh, then got up and dove into the madness happening on the other side of the table.

* * *

     It was past midnight by the ship’s clock when it happened.

     Date was surprised to find Ankh pinging him. The blond didn’t usually enjoy interacting with authority of any kind outside of being forced, so for him to be requesting Date’s presence on the bridge at all, much less at a late hour, was unheard of. Also, while Ankh’s sleep schedule was drastically different from everyone else, the close quarters of his and Eiji’s room made leaving without waking the other difficult—and Eiji was one of the few other people Ankh thought about. Something had roused the pilot enough for him to climb up to bridge in the wee hours, then call Date; and Date would hedge his bets it was something bad.

     “What’s the matter?” He demanded, not bothering with any pleasantries, especially when he saw the blond’s serious expression, and heard the lack of sarcasm. Anything that could shut Ankh up was something that needed to be addressed instantly. “Talk to me, Anko.”

     Ankh didn’t even react to the misnaming. Definitely bad. “We’ve been tracked.” He growled, twirling his seat and putting his pointy shoes soundly on the floor for once.

     “What?”

     “There’s a Corporation cruiser bearing in on us from behind. And what’s more,” With a few deft button pushes, he was showing Date a recording of a signal connecting. “Somebody’s been in contact with them.”

     “Are they talking now?” Date wanted to know.

     Ankh shook his head. “Alert went off, and I got up here and scrambled it pretty quick, but I’ve got no way of knowing just how much went through.” He clicked his tongue in displeasure. “They could have nothing, or they could have everything. Either way,” The blond looked back up at Date with an intensity and focus he rarely displayed, “We have a mole onboard.”

     Date’s mouth twisted. “Should’ve listened to Gotou-chan… Get him and Satonaka up here— **not** Eiji and Hina.”

     “Already locked their quarters, and the passenger ones as well. But that won’t do much good if any of them are already moving about the ship.”

     “You sure you can’t get anything from the message?”

     “Nope.”

     “Then help us search the ship. I’ll take the lower decks, you do the highest ones. Satonaka and Gotou can get what’s in between.” Ankh nodded, setting the ship in autopilot and notifying the other two of the situation. “Let’s go find our bug.”

* * *

     Hiiro was checking the readings on the pod when a voice spoke behind him.

     “Forget something?”

     Oddly enough for his line of work, it wasn’t the first time he’d turned around to find  a gun trained on him. “What is this about?”

     “You know,” Date said slowly, giving him a hard look, “You’re really an weird one, but I certainly wouldn’t have pegged you for Corporate.”

     Ice clenched in Hiiro’s chest. “What?” His voice was more alarmed than he would have liked, but the older man’s expression didn’t change.

     “How much do they know?”

     “Why do you think I’m Corporate? Is there a cruiser?”

     “How much do they know?!” There was an edge to the question that time.

     “You’ve got the wrong man, Date-san.” Both Date and Hiiro looked up to find Hidari standing on the balcony above them, looking somber beneath his hat. Hiiro was about to express shock that the, however unusual, quiet man was with the Corporation when he realised that Hidari was looking behind them, and turned.

     Amino was on the balcony stairs, his own pistol out and levelled. “Date-san, I’d appreciate it if you could put the weapon down.”

     “Well.” Date grunted, setting his firearm on a nearby supply box. “This is shaping up to be a lovely morning.” The larger man didn’t appear to notice when Hiiro faded back a step, suspecting what was coming. “Don’t suppose we could talk this over.”

     Amino moved purposely down the steps, weapon steady. “You think I’m stupid? I know the Kougami Foundation has been supporting the Remnants Rebels for years; you think I honestly believe you have no idea what cargo you’re dropping off?” He snarled, followed by a sound that would have made more sense coming from an angry bull. “You’re just lucky I have another assignment, otherwise I’d be dragging you all in personally. Cruiser will handle that, anyway. I already alerted them.” He cocked the gun.

     “Now, now,” Hidari interrupted, starting towards the stairs himself, “I don’t think there’s any need to-”

     “Same goes for you!” Amino shouted, switching to train the gun on the other man, who froze. “We’re taking you in, too, and you’re gonna tell me why the **hell** your name sets off every single alarum in the Museum Branch!”

     Hiiro continued to inch away while the Corporate’s attention was elsewhere, seeing the woman called Satonaka appear on the third level catwalk. His mind was racing. He wasn’t far from the controls for the hull doors, normally under lockdown he doubted it would take him long to circumvent it, and those doors were the only way out large enough for the pod, and he couldn’t go anywhere without it—without **him**.  Doing the math in his head, he summarised that the tall, Captain-like man would be able to shut the doors before anyone else was sucked out; going by their positions, they’d lose some cargo, but only him and the pod would end up in space—he wouldn’t survive, but the air systems in the pod were meant to hold out for a week longer at the least, and this area was a common thoroughfare for ships—going by the data he’d been studying when planning their escape. The pod was on a timer—leaving him to fend for himself was far from ideal, but if it meant he’d live… Subtly, Hiiro shifted his weight, preparing to make the dive for the controls.

     “Doctor Kagami, you are hereby ordered to submit to government law. Stay where you are and get on the ground.” Before he could move any further, Amino’s attention snapped back to him; the man had apparently noticed his movements.

     “Wait.” Date sounded like he wasn’t quite sure he’d heard right. “… You want the **kid**?” He looked over his shoulder at Hiiro, who felt suddenly quite scrutinised. “… **Him** …?” He mumbled again to himself.

     Amino ignored the question, coming toward them across the cargo bay. “Get on the ground,” He ordered Hiiro again.

     Hiiro clenched his teeth. “… I refuse.” He spat, trying to think of another way to get attention away from him. The dark haired young man who had invited him on board had joined Hidari on the catwalk, along with the angry blond. Near the top of the stairwell, he saw the young man who acted as second in command come in, take in the scene, and start going stealthily for his own weapon.

     What happened next happened very, very fast.

     Date turned and seized Hiiro by the arm, shoving him forward. “Look, just take the-”

     Hiiro jerked away with a hiss. “Get your hands-”

     “Hey, why is everyone-”

     They were all interrupted by a gunshot.

     She must have been in the engine room, and heard the commotion, because she’d entered from one of the bay side doors, and her voice had got everyone by surprise. The girl, Hina she’d said her name was, stumbled back a step, looking bewildered for a moment, then looked down, feeling at her stomach with her hand.

     A large red splotch was growing on her shirt where a bullet had torn a hole in the fabric. Looking back up, she blinked a few times, clearly still not sure what had just happened. Finally, her gaze moved to the gun in Amino’s hand.

     “… Why…?” She murmured, sounding more sad than anything.

     Then she crumpled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Issue I ran into w/ this chapter: The Dobson character. Anyone who knows Firefly knows what I mean. The problem with using already-aired shows as a base is that everyone **already knows** who the traitors are. So... I just went with Amino/Minotauros from Wizard. Small character who'd have a gun that I bet not many people remember.  
>  Not that any of us actually were deceived by Dobson bc he wasn't in the opening credits, but you get my drift.


	3. The Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of all the things that could have been in the box, that was **not** they were expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAHHHH!  
> I did it again! I guess I just started this and now it's all pouring out. Chapter Three already! Whooo!

     Eiji didn’t think he’d ever seen anything move quite as fast as Kagami Hiiro diving across the cargo bay floor to catch Hina before she hit the ground. As it was, he didn’t quite make it, but was able to get both hands under her head in time to prevent an sort of concussion.

     Amino moved too, trying to still the doctor with his weapon again, but turning back towards the men who had once been his captives instead brought him face to face with Hidari, who sucker punched him to the ground with unexpected ease, swiping the firearm in the same movement.

     From beside Eiji, Ankh climbed over the railing and **leapt** down to the floor, starting towards the fallen Corporate with an expression Eiji had never seen—but that he was pretty sure would kill the guy, if the raised talons didn’t do it first.

     Hidari, however, turned and stepped between them. “Stand down.” His voice was oddly commanding for the personality he’d previously displayed.

     Ankh clicked his tongue angrily, eyes burning. “You think I won’t go through you? Get out of the way.”

     “We are **not** killing this man.”

     “Not right **away** we’re not…”

     “We’re not killing him **at all**.”

     “I wasn’t kidding about going **through** you-”

     “Ankh.” Gotou’s voice interrupted the stare-down, and both participants turned to look at him. The second in command was giving Ankh an equally intense look—without breaking their new eye contact, he pointedly set his hand on his concealed weapon. “Just get me rope and get back to the bridge.” There was more to the words than an order.

     Ankh turned and stalked towards Gotou, and for a moment Eiji genuinely feared the two were going to come to blows. At the last moment, however, Ankh huffed angrily and veered off toward a supply cache. Gotou apparently sensed that the confrontation was over, as he moved his hand from his gun and walked over to Hidari, who watched him carefully.

     Eiji had never seen Ankh that angry. He’d also never seen Gotou threaten the blonde so openly. A small thing that made him wonder just how much he really knew about the rest of the crew. But seeing then that Ankh was, indeed, retrieving rope which he tossed to Gotou before heading back up the stairs, Eiji pushed those concerns aside, and instead rushed to join Satonaka at Hina’s side.

     Hiiro had transformed into a completely different person. His hands freed from Hina’s head thanks to Satonaka tucking her jacket there as a pillow, he was talking to the young mechanic in a soft, patient way that was drastically different from his terse quips before while he used the older woman’s little beauty scissors to cut the tatters of the shirt away from the wound. The irrational thought occurred to Eiji that Hina would be disappointed about the damage—she’d made the article of clothing herself. Not that she seemed particularly aware of what was happening when he skidded to his knees beside her—she didn’t even note his arrival, blinking blearily while Satonaka held her hand.

     “Hina,” Hiiro was saying gently, “Your name is Hina, right? Can you move your legs at all? What about your feet?”

     Hina frowned slightly, her voice a mere mumble. “You… Asking me to dance…?”

     The surgeon’s eyebrows knit together, but his voice did not betray so much as a hint of stress. “She’s going in to shock.” His gaze flicked over her face—going pale and sweaty, her lips turning blue. “There’s too much blood.” Finally he finished cutting the shirt, pulling the bloodied cloth away and leaving it on the floor. To Eiji’s surprise, he then proceed to pull his own tie off, ripping the seams open to make it wider, and began using it to clean blood away, feeling and examining the area around the wound. “Put pressure on to slow the blood loss.” He said without looking up, but pulled Eiji’s scarf off with one hand and held it out to Satonaka. Releasing Hina’s hand, she took it and pressed it to the wound. “You’re her friend, right? See if you can keep her awake. Her blood pressure drops further we’re in trouble.”

     Eiji grabbed Hina’s hand quickly, fighting the urge to panic silently. “Hina? Hina, stay awake, okay? Just focus on me.” Her eyes flitted toward him, but nothing else.

     The doctor risked a glance over his shoulder as he continued checking around the wound with his hands, one still clutching the now-bloodied tie. “Do you have an infirmary? I can’t find an exit wound and she might have organ or spinal damage.”

     Eiji realised Date was behind him when the man spoke. “There’s a fully stocked one on this level.”

     “We need to transport her asap. Tell me there’s a stretcher.”

     The exchange was interrupted by Ankh suddenly speaking through the com, loud enough for them all to hear. “Oi. That cruiser caught up. They want us to surrender controls and dock.”

     Hiiro’s face went almost as white as Hina’s had, and his doctor persona suddenly shattered. “… No.” He looked at Date with an expression Eiji could only classify as pleading, though he was only half listening while trying to keep Hina looking at him. “No. You have to tell them no. You have to.”

     “Hell no.” Date growled. “We got into this because of you. I’m handing you over.”

     Hiiro cast about in desperation, his eyes flicking to the silver crate still sitting on the other side of the cargo bay. He set his jaw… And stood up, backing away from Hina. Blood was already smeared all over his hands from inspecting and cleaning the wound, and it dripped from the fabric of his tie when his hand clenched into a trembling fist around it, knuckles going white.

     He look Date straight in the eye. “Turn the ship around.” The was frost in his tone.

     Date stared at him. “What are you doing?”

     “Have you ever seen an abdominal injury before?”

     “Of course I have, I-”

     “She could have organ damage, or even damage to the spinal cord. She’s lost a massive amount of blood. She’s dying.”

     “I know that!”

     “Then turn the ship around.” Though Hiiro’s voice was even, there was something about the tempo that made it sound like he was putting a lot of effort into controlling it. His fists clenched tighter at his sides, and his gaze didn’t falter when Date raised his own, recovered, gun, and levelled it at his chest.

     “You’re not the only one with medical experience on board. I could just shoot you and do this myself.”

     “No, you can’t.” Hiiro didn’t even hesitate in the response. “She’s your subordinate. If you could do this, you would have been over here yourself. Instead you let me do it.”

     Hina’s had twitched in Eiji’s, the ghost of a confused and worried expression coming on to her face. She could tell there was fighting, at the very least.

     “I worked in a war zone, I can-”

     “My guess is you were an emergency doctor.” Hiiro cut Date off. “But even if you’re professional, even if you’ve worked in war hospitals, you’re not a surgeon. You might be able to temporarily stabilise her, but you don’t have the proper surgical training to safely operate, and I don’t think you’re willing to risk her life like that. As another doctor, you should be well aware of the differences between fields. And we’re running out of time.”

     After what seemed like a long moment, Date lowered the gun. “Fuck!” He yelled furiously. “What the hell did you do? Kill your parents for the family fortune?”

     Hiiro might have flinched, but still didn’t waver. “I don’t kill people.”

     “Then do the **damn** job.”

     “Turn the ship around.”

     Date surged forward angrily, looking like he was about to throw the surgeon when Satonaka silenced everything with a word. “ **Akira**!” Date nigh snapped to attention, looking down at her, while she glared back. “Do it.” There was no arguing.

     Relenting in his charge, Date looked over his shoulder. “Gotou.”

     Gotou started to the com on the wall at the same time Hiiro flew back to Hina’s side, now yelling for Hidari to get whatever stretcher there was from the infirmary on the heels of Satonaka giving directions.

     Gotou hit the button. “Ankh, it’s me. Get the ship turned—we’re running.”

* * *

     On the bridge, Ankh flipped the switches to bring the _TaJaDor_ to life, changing the course.

     “Good,” He growled, rubbing his arm. “Last place I want to go is home.”

* * *

     Hiiro hadn’t waited for them to finish getting Hina on the single medical bed, or for Satonaka to collapse the stretcher, before he pulled his suit jacket off, dropping the remains of his tie and rolling up his sleeves. He’d washed his hands and located the gloves and the medical tools before he’d even gotten done ordering most of them out to give him room to work, only letting Date stay when the large man wouldn’t budge.

     Except for Gotou, who Eiji presumed was hauling the shooter off to his room for safekeeping, and Ankh, still on the bridge, the others congregated by the glass wall of the infirmary, watching the proceedings. Eventually, Date willingly stepped from the room, sending a look over his shoulder that was awe mixed with a glare. Satonaka and Eiji hurried over to him.

     “He really **is** good.” The tall man growled. “Completely focused, and better finesse than anyone I’ve ever seen. Even **I** got lost after a while.” He heaved a large sigh, looking between his crewmates, then back at the working surgeon. “I hate saying it, but I think we’re gonna have to trust him.”

     At that moment, Gotou appeared from the end of the hall leading to the stairs, coming over to them. “How is she?”

     Date gestured behind him. “If he keeps that up, I think she’ll be okay. I hope.” They all squinted through the window. Hiiro was removing something with tweezers now, gaze not shifting from his work save to check the monitor of the breathing apparatus.

     “What’s he…?” Eiji began.

     “Trying to get the bullet out. Said it didn’t seem like there was as much damage as he feared, but the damn slug fragmented, and he needs to find all the pieces—and if there were any bits of cloth in there. She also lost a good amount of blood. At least she’s O positive.” Date turned back to Gotou. “You got the mole handled?”

     Gotou nodded. “He’s secured in his cabin. Door’s locked, too. What do you want to do with him?”

     “Let him stew for a while, then find out what he knows. About what could make the Corporation target some rich super doctor, for one thing. I thought they liked to keep the geniuses.” Date growled.

     “He’s Corporate. He won’t talk that easily.” Satonaka pointed out.

     Date laughed shortly and bitterly. “He will if we leave him in a room with Anko.”

* * *

     It was hours later; Eiji wasn’t counting, but long enough that he’d fallen asleep in the hall outside the infirmary, when Date’s voice roused him, along with the click of Satonaka’s heels.

     “How is she?”

     “She’s out of danger, for now. Remarkably, I was able to get all the bullet shards out, and it looks like it should heal cleanly. No major organ damage. She got lucky.” Eiji stumbled to the door as Hiiro sighed deeply. “She did lose a lot of blood.” He nodded towards the new machine Hina was hooked up to, one with dangling bags of blood and tubes. “I’m just politely not going to ask why you have blood transfusion equipment. Right now, her body doesn’t seem to be rejecting it, but we’ll have to wait and see.” The doctor raked a (now-clean) hand through his hair, which was already thoroughly dishevelled. “I’m monitoring her condition, but she’s doing well right now.”

     “That’s good.” Date said, leaning on the foot of the bed while Satonaka walked to Hina’s side.

     Taking the girl’s hand, the woman looked affectionately at her before turning back to Date. “… I want to know what’s going on here.”

     “Yeah.” The large man said frankly. “So do I.” He was looking at Hiiro pointedly.

     The doctor frowned, looking uncomfortable. “What does that mean?” He asked, eyeing Date.

     “It means,” The large Captain said seriously, “That I want to know what a man like you would kill for.” Straightening, Date turned like a soldier and swept out of the room, marching back toward the cargo bay.

     After a moment of bewilderment, followed by dawning horror, the doctor shot to his feet and raced after the pseudo-Captain, shouting for him to stay away from the box. He made it to the hull on Date’s heels, but Hiiro wan’t much of a physical fighter, and Gotou, coming down the stairs, easily restrained him when he tried to reach the older man. Though the surgeon could not break free from the hold, it was a credit to his determination that he kept struggling relentlessly. Eiji came in just behind them with Satonaka at his side, and even Ankh and Hidari appeared on the catwalk.

     Date walked right over to the box, looking it over for a minute before fiddling with the dials, making the lid pop up. Hiiro let out a snarl, even sinking his teeth into Gotou’s wrist in an attempt to get free. Ignoring that, Date stepped forward, heaving the lid off, steam rising from the cold interior.

     Even Ankh was shocked into silence at the contents.

     The young man was still and pale, dressed in wrinkled, ill-fitting scrubs. His feet were bare, and despite his unconscious state, he look inexplicably tired and even sick. Date looked at the boy for a long time, then up at the doctor, then down again.

     The silence was broken by Hiiro. “Let me go!” He snapped at Gotou again, trying to break free once more. “I need to check his vitals! He’s not supposed to wake up for another week! The shock could-”

     “The shock of **what**?” Date interrupted loudly, turning to advance on him. “Finding out he’s been sold to some rich jackass on the outer planets? Or is this something else?” He looked between them again, examining the withering glare the still-resisting surgeon was fixing him with. He cocked an eyebrow. “Is this true love? Because I-”

     Whatever he was, however, was lost when the boy in the box sat up sharply with a scream like something was ripping one of his organs out. Terrified, confused eyes flew around the cargo bay, finally taking in the scene of Gotou holding Hiiro while Date towered over them. With a frightened yelp, he scrambled out of the container, spilling onto the floor and retreating against the far wall, shaking and clutching his head.

     It was obvious that Date was wrong.

     In his surprise, Gotou’s hold had relaxed, and Hiiro slipped out of it, hurrying over to kneel in front of the boy, taking his hands to pull them away from his head.

     “Emu, Emu, it’s okay, it’s me…”

     Slowly, the boy’s—Emu’s—gaze focused on the man in front of him. “H… Hiiro?”

     Hiiro’s expression was yet again different from the neutral displeasure that he usually showed, replaced with unmasked concern and even affection. “Yeah.” He said, quietly. “Yeah, it’s me. It’s okay. You’re safe. We’re safe.”

     The boy’s lip trembled, and he was still shaking, but Hiiro’s presence seemed to calm him. “Hiiro… I… My brain’s all weird… Like there was someone else in it, I…” He paused, fumbling with words as if he’d forgotten how his tongue worked. “… I was starting to think you wouldn’t come…”

     Hiiro let out a bitter chuckle, tears welling in his eyes—something else new “Idiot. Of course I came.”

     Emu frowned, looking around again at the people surrounding them, then back to Hiiro. “… Saki?” He whispered. The surgeon hesitated, wavering for a moment. That seemed to be the only answer the boy needed. “Hiiro… I’m so sorry…”

     Hiiro shook his head, reaching over to pat Emu’s hair gently. “ **No thank you**. This is **not** your fault.” Softly, he leaned the boy’s head against his shoulder, pulling him into a hug where they clung to each other like they were all the other had.

     After a long, long silence, Date spoke. “What is this?” He whispered, quietly but forcefully.

     Hiiro looked up at them over Emu’s head, his expression daring mockery at the tears in his eyes.

     “This,” He said slowly and firmly, even proudly, “Is my intern.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, finally, Emu joins the cast officially.  
> Don't worry. He's gonna be **much** more lucid than River was. He's a little overwhelmed here because he just crawled out of a cryopod.  
>  Also, I'm sorry Shoutarou did, like, jackshit here. He'll get more later.


	4. A Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiiro tells the crew how he got there, a tale that hits unexpectedly close to home for certain members.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! There is no schedule for this! Because there is no schedule for my life. I guess some good stuff happened and I wanted to celebrate, so here it is.  
>  **Lots of talking in this chapter**. Seriously. Almost named it 'Talking.' I guess that's guaranteed for the 'Hiiro tells his story' chapter, but still, just a heads up. Very little action, some making fun of Shoutarou, and some other stuff.
> 
> EDIT: I have no clarified some things that were a little too vague before.

     “I am a very smart man.”

     Everyone save Hina and Emu himself were congregated in the common room, with Hiiro at the front of the group. It had been a good hour since Date had opened the silver crate to find a living, very frightened and very confused young man inside. He, Eiji, and Gotou had then followed along as Hiiro half-dragged Emu to the infirmary, then had to sedate him to get him to stop trying to check Hina’s condition. Once he’d made certain the kid was comfortable, Hiiro had consented to being herded to the main room for an explanation.

     “I am a very smart man.” The surgeon repeated. “I have a reputation as a prodigy. Skipped five grades, never failed a surgery. I’ve been referred to as a genius. So…” He took a deep breath, as if to force himself to continue, “When I say that that intern can, in his own way, make me look like a complete fool, I want you to understand.” He rubbed his forehead self-consciously—all eyes in the room remained fixed on him. “When Emu and I first met, we… We didn’t get on well. I was… Well, I **am** , as I’m sure you’ve noticed, rather difficult to interact with. For most of my life, the only person who had been able to stand interacting with me was my own father. When I was in school, against all odds, I managed to meet someone else who was willing to put up with my brusqueness, and she ended up becoming my girlfriend.” The surgeon’s eyes went a little dreamy, and it occurred to Eiji that he must have really liked that girl. “Saki was a veterinary student, and the two of us somehow managed to hit it off. She supported me far more than she needed to, more than was fair to her.” He shook  his head “She and I had both already graduated and were working together at a hospital when Emu came into our lives. My father, who was the director had the brilliant idea to assign me as supervisor for his surgical residency.’

     ‘Like I said, we didn’t get on at first. I found him to be too emotional and immature, and he considered me too detached and robotic. He could be a real brat about it, too, I remember…” He trailed off, realising he was digressing. “We got into more than one argument about it. But…” Hiiro hesitated again, looking at his hands, which he had been subconsciously wringing since the start of his speech. Deliberately, he moved them to his jacket pockets before continuing. “Emu, the intern, he… He… Made me start liking him. He always came back. Even if it was to tell me I was wrong, to argue, he thought I was worth disagreeing with, no matter how much I tried to push him away. He just sort of… Crept up on me. I started to see his strengths and abilities; sometimes I kid myself he started to see mine. The longer we worked together, the closer we became, despite our differences. Emu was…” He swallowed, his voice cracking just a little. “… He was my best friend. My **only** friend, admittedly, but… He somehow worked his way into my regard to a place as high as my father and Saki.  It was like… Like having a little brother. Suddenly there were three people I’d do anything for.” There was another pause as he ducked his head, rubbing his face briefly. “We worked together for about a year before it happened. Couple of people in suits showed up at the hospital with a list that included both Saki and Emu. It was supposed to be some sort of… New treatment project. They were looking for medical professionals to help launch a new clinic of the Health Department. Looking back, it was all far too vague, too secret—but Emu had finished his internships, and Saki wanted to do something new. They both wanted to do it, wanted to help. I didn’t feel like I had the right to try and stop them. I should have.’

     ‘They left with the agents. For months, I didn’t hear a thing. No matter how much I tried to contact them, I never got anything back—until I did. The messages were from Saki, but… They didn’t make any sense. She was writing about things we’d never done, people we didn’t know. It took me too long, **far** too long, to figure out it was a code.” He stopped there for a long time, as if the memory was too overwhelming.

     It was Gotou that prompted him to continue. “What did it say?”

     With another deep breath, Hiiro looked back up at them with unmasked agony in his eyes. “It said ‘They’re hurting us, it’s too late for me, get Emu out.’”

     Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably. “How’d you do it?” Satonaka asked.

     Hiiro shook his head bitterly. “Luck. Money. And help. One of the other friends Emu had made through his extensive likability got wind of the message-”

     “How?” Date interjected.

     Hiiro’s lips twitched towards what might have been a smirk. “He went through my things. Never had a sense for the rules, that one. Typical coroner. Once he knew, he strong-armed me into letting him help out. Even then, for weeks, we couldn’t get anywhere near them—then, we struck out. A doctor who had used to work at our hospital before he’d abruptly lost his license contacted us. He said he’d heard about what had happened and wanted to meet. We were desperate, so… We took the risk.’

     ‘He told us that the reason he’d had his license revoked was that he had been trying to look into the more shady medical practices of Genm and they’d caught on. Disgraced doctors aren’t listened to. After hearing the full story and seeing Saki’s message, he said that, yes, they were in danger—that the Corporation was trying to use them to create living weapons. He said that if we could fund them and get Saki to help from the inside, he and his assistant could get Emu out of the lab in a special, sealed cryopod, and to a predetermined port somewhere in the Heisei Sector. From there, we could take him… Anywhere.”

     There was a long pause before they realised he had finished. Gotou frowned. “How did you know it wasn’t a hoax?”

     “I didn’t think it was,” The surgeon answered. “I’d met the doctor before his disbarment, and while I can’t claim we got along anymore than I did with anyone else, he didn’t seem dishonest. But…” He looked tiredly at Date. “… I didn’t know for sure until you opened that box.”

     Squaring his shoulders, he looked the taller man straight in the eyes. “You said you wanted to know what I would kill for. Well, there’s only two things in the universe, and he’s one of them.”

     Eiji was unsure of what to think, glancing around for some sort of inspiration. Date, Gotou, and Satonaka were thinking seriously, while Hidari looked downright sympathetic, and Ankh… Looking toward the back of the room, Eiji discovered that Ankh was perched atop one of the small tables, as was his wont—but the discomfited, almost guilty expression he was wearing was decidedly abnormal. He didn’t get much chance to consider a possible reason.

     “The fact is,” Date began loudly, commanding attention. “You can’t stay here.” The big man stood, crossing over to stand across from the doctor. “We have enough trouble without wanted fugitives on board. Hina pulls through, you get off at Omokagedo.”

     Hiiro rubbed his neck nervously. “And if she doesn’t?”

     “Then you’re getting off sooner. So you’d better hope you’re really as perfect as you say.”

     In the corner, Gotou started. “That’s murder.” Date ignored him.

     The doctor bristled—Eiji’s first thought was that it was the slight at his reputation until he spoke. “You can do whatever you want with me, but this is **not** Emu’s fault. He’s a victim here here. Even if something goes wrong with the girl’s recovery, at least get him somewhere safe. You want to throw me out the airlock? Fine. But the intern is innocent.”

     “This isn’t about innocence.” Date tilted his head, looking down at the surgeon. “The friend who was helping you. From the hospital. The coroner. What happened to him?” Hiiro hesitated, then bit his lip, eyes trailing to the floor. Date folded his arms. “That’s what I thought. You’ve barely been on this boat three days and we already have one more gunshot on board than usual. I don’t want anymore.”

     “Now see here,” Hidari finally spoke, leaning back in his chair and tugging on his hat in what they now knew was a customary tic. “I’m not just going to stand around while there’s murder on board.”

     “Oh? Does the half-boiled hat have a mean streak?” Satonaka quipped, eyebrows raised in mockery. “We’d all better watch are step.”

     Hidari spluttered, sitting up sharply. “Now see here! I… I’m not… Where did you even get that word?”

     “I went through your book collection.” She replied matter-of-factly. “Lots of detective fiction, and someone wrote notes about you in all the margins.”

     Shoutarou was steadily turning pink, retreating back into his seat. “I… That’s… Goddamnit, those two.” He began grumbling to himself discontentedly.

     Gotou moved out of his corner to go intercede between Date and the doctor, both of whom were glaring daggers at each other, ignoring everything else, and at the same time, Eiji saw Ankh hop off the table and slip out the back door. Concluding he was useless in the room, he got up and went after his roommate.

     “What the matter with you?”

     The blond stopped at turned at the sound of Eiji’s voice. For a moment, Eiji was afraid that he would dismiss him and keep walking, and was relieved when Ankh instead waited for him to catch up, despite looking displeased.

     “What’s that supposed to mean?”

     “It means,” Eiji continued, leaning against the wall across from Ankh. “That you’re acting weird.”

     “I’m acting how I always act.” Ankh growled, but did so while refusing to meet Eiji’s eyes.

     “No, you’re not. Why were you so upset by Kagami-sensei’s story? You never seemed very sentimental to me.” Ankh’s mouth twisted in a way Eiji could only identify as ‘unhappy.’ He thought about the fury he’d seen when Amino had shot Hina. “Ankh,” He said suddenly, reaching out to grab the blond by both shoulders, doing his best to fill his voice with only slightly false astonishment, “Are you starting to learn emotions?”

     Ankh said nothing for a long moment, merely staring back at Eiji with a strange, wistful, nigh longing look that made no sense. Then he reached out himself, grabbing a handful of the front of Eiji’s shirt in his monster hand, eyebrows knitting together uncharacteristically. Strangely, the usually aggressive gesture felt oddly intimate; here, in a cramped hallway that was even smaller than their tiny bunk, they were hanging onto each other and Ankh was looking at him without so much as a shred of animosity or disgust for the first time since he could remember. There was a warm, fuzzy feeling filling his chest, centred around where Ankh was holding his shirt.

     For a minute or so, they just started, and then Ankh spoke. “Eiji, I-”

     “There you are” Satonaka suddenly appeared beside them.

     Ankh let go of Eiji’s shirt almost as fast as he’d bee-lined toward Hina’s shooter. Whatever the moment had been, it was over. “… What?”

     Satonaka flipped her fingers through her hair, either unaware or not caring she’d interrupted something. “Date wants you,” She indicated Ankh, “To question the Corporate now that he’s been sitting awhile. Seems to think he’ll be more likely to talk to you.” When they hesitated, she looked between them. “Something wrong?”

     Eiji opened his mouth, but Ankh cut him off. “No. Nothing.” He growled, then stomped off down the hall. Eiji watched him go, absolutely bewildered.

     “He’ll break your heart, that one.” Eiji started—he hadn’t realised Satonaka was still behind him. “My advice is find someone who actually knows what love is.” He turned around to ask her watch she meant, only to discover she was already heading back the way she came. “I need to go make sure Date and the doctor haven’t come to blows. Ciao.” With that, she disappeared back into the other room, leaving Eiji far more confused than she’d found him.

* * *

     Ankh’s original anger had mostly calmed from repetitive assurances that Hina would be fine, but he still fixed Amino with a murderous glare after closing the door, moving to stand above the Corporate had been tied to a chair.

     It was Amino who spoke first. “Didn’t expect to see one of you here.” When Ankh didn’t respond, he kept going. “From what I heard, your kind weren’t big on other people.”

     Ankh’s mouth twitched into a scowl. “I don’t need you telling me what ‘my kind’ are like.” Seizing another chair, he hauled it over and twirled it around, sitting on it backwards. “You don’t know shit.”

     Amino’s lip curled into a small sneer. “I know what you are. Do they?” He hissed, chuckling cruelly when Ankh’s expression shifted just slightly. “You think I don’t know what you are? You’re just like me. No. Wait. You’re the old model.”

     Ankh’s talon’s flexed, twisting the metal of the chair back. “From what I hear, so are you.”

     Amino groaned, shaking his head. “So you met the kid.” He looked back up at Ankh. “Listen to me. You think I’m dangerous? That kid is even moreso. He’s a big, flashing sign to a monster you do **not** want to be tangling with; something who won’t think twice about slaughtering **everyone** on board this ship.”

     “You’re gonna have to be more specific. I can think of a lot of people like that.”

     “I’m talking about something that’s worse than you, worse than me. Imagine a child with no sense of purpose, no loyalties, and powers like ours--perhaps even greater. Something uncontrollable.”

     “Humans always think they can control something that they can’t.” _Like me_.

     But Amino was shaking his head again. “You don’t understand.”

     “That all you’re gonna say?” Ankh snapped, getting to his feet. “Then you can stew some more.” He started for the door, but when he opened it, Amino’s voice made him pause.

     “How long do you think this is gonna last?” The man asked snidely. “They may not know now, but once they figure out what you are, you’re gonna be the one in here.”

     With a scowl, Ankh stepped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Shoutarou. He will never escape from the term 'half-boiled.'  
> Yes, he is gonna get to confront Satonaka about going through his things. She's such a snoop. ^^  
> Also poor Ankh. Amino, stop being mean to my bird son! Wait... I wrote this.


	5. Phantom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Normally, people prefer a little forewarning when their prisoner isn't exactly human anymore...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there an info dump song? Let's all sing an info dump song!  
> Little messy there w/ the Wizard folks, not to mention short. Don't worry, they'll be back later at some point.  
> Lots of jumping around, too.
> 
> NOTE: I realise the weird dream sequence at the start is a little odd, given that the person dreaming doesn't wake up until a good way into the chapter, but it felt like a more effective place to start than Hina just waking up.

     It wasn’t his room.

     He didn’t recognise any of it; even when it was hazy like this. He felt like he didn’t even fit in his skin.

     Something moved in the corner of his eye. “Oh! Are you awake?” He squinted up at her, but he still couldn’t really see clearly. She was just a mass of colour, mainly pink. “How do you feel?” He felt like he was trying to respond, but his voice didn’t work. She giggled. “No voice yet? That’s okay. Most newbies having a hard time getting adjusted.”

     Even though everything else was foreign to him, he felt as if he knew her, even as only a blur of pink.

     A hand came down on his shoulder—warm, comforting. “Don’t worry.” She assured him sweetly. “It’ll clear up in a bit.”

     She was right, the bleariness was beginning to fade, his vision sharpening. Finally, he was able to see his hands in front of his face. He looked carefully at them, wiggling his fingers.

     They weren’t his hands.

* * *

     Hina awoke with a small jolt; thankfully not enough to reopen her wounds. The first thing she noticed was Date, slumped over on the bench, stirring when he heard her mumble his name. Seeing she was conscious, he came over and took her hand.

     “How you doing, kid?”

     “I’m good.” She murmured. “Hardly even hurts.”

     “Yeah, well. Doctor knows his stuff, I guess.”

     She giggled a little at the begrudging tone, then looked to her other side where the intern was still unconscious, still wrapped in the blanket the surgeon had obsessively tucked around him. “He looks like a sweet guy, doesn’t he?”

     Date smiled a little. “That might be true, but it seems he’s a beacon for trouble.”

     She sighed, rolling her head back up. “… How’s Ankh doing?”

     “How do you mean?” She raised her eyebrows at him. “He’s… He’s calmed down. But… Get some rest, okay. I need you back on your feet soon to snap both him and the engine back into place.” She giggled again. His com buzzed, and Gotou alerted him they were on final approach to Omokagedo. “Gotta go, kiddo. Remember the rest.” She nodded, and waved faintly as he headed out the door.

     Trying to get comfortable on the stiff infirmary bed, she looked back over at Emu, who had begun to toss and mutter in his sleep.

* * *

     “You don’t think we could find a better place to leave them?” Date blinked, realising Gotou had spoken from the driver’s side of the buggy.

     “What?” He mumbled, trying to recall what the conversation had been, then realising there hadn’t been one.

     “The doctor and that kid. They probably won’t last a day out here.” Gotou indicated out the window to the cracked, depleted ground, some of the deeper fissures glowing an eerie violet. “There’s got to be somewhere else.”

     “Gotou-chan! Are you going soft on me?”

     “I’m just saying. They’ve got nothing. I’m pretty sure Kagami’s flying blind.”

     “And by doing that he’s already gotten one person killed. I don’t intend for one of us to be next.”

     Gotou sighed. “From the sound of the story, that guy got himself involved.”

     “What’s your point?”

     “Just that I don’t think it’s fair to blame Kagami-sensei for what happened. After he finally opened up, he honestly looked like he might fall apart if someone poked him with a feather.”

     “You were the one who was suspicious of him!”

     “I know. I’ve just been thinking. He said his father was the director, right? That means he had it pretty good, and you said yourself what he’s done so far indicates he’s telling the truth about his reputation. He sacrificed **all of that** for this. His whole **life** for this kid. That should count for something in your books, too, no?”

     Date turned to stare out the window, scowling. “Just get us to the shop.”

* * *

     “So no idea what happened to the two who helped you get him out?” Hidari stood in the doorway of the room as Hiiro collected his few belongings.

     “You mean the license-less doctor and his partner?” The surgeon asked without looking up. “Our association ended as soon as I picked up the intern. I have no knowledge of their intentions after  that.” He paused, finally turning toward his audience. “Why do you ask?”

     Shoutarou floundered for a moment. “I… I’m just curious about what they know about that living weapon project.”

**_Smooth. Totally not suspicious at all._ **

     The surgeon frowned at him. “Why…?”

     With a sigh, Shoutarou straightened, stepping into the room. “It’s like… I have this friend, who… Well, there’s these circumstances that… He’s a little… It would help if we could get some info about the project.”

     “I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

     Shoutarou hesitated for a moment. “… I see. Well, don’t worry about it.”

     “Very well.” The surgeon went back to packing. “What are you doing in here, anyway?”

     “I was going to go have words with Satonaka-san about going through my things, but she high-tailed it off ship as soon as we landed,” Hidari explained, taking off his hat and brushing it  off, “So I was in this area, and remembered I wanted to ask you something.”

     “I see.” Hiiro closed the last bag, looking around the room. “Well then, if you don’t mind, I need to go ask the pilot with the attitude something.” With a polite bow, the doctor stepped around Shoutarou and out the door. Getting out of the way and replacing his hat, Shoutarou let out another sigh.

**_Nicely done. Splendid job_.**

* * *

     Date and Gotou were greeted at the door of the aged antique shop by a disheveled young man in brightly coloured clothing.

     “Wajimajii-san!” The boy shouted over his shoulder. “Delivery!”

     “It’s only one room over, Shunpei! No need to bellow like that!” Snapped a much older gentleman, coming in from the back. “And for goodness sake, let those two inside.” Shunpei quickly stumbled out of the way, mumbling apologies. Wajima shook his head in between nodding greetings to the visitors. “Make yourself useful and go tell Rinko they’re here, would you?” The boy nodded vigorously and raced for the stairs.

     Date chuckled. “Where’d you pick him up?”

     Wajima just shrugged. “You know us, always collecting strays. Kid’s a Gate that came a little too close to going nuclear. Turned out he had nowhere else to go, so we brought him back here.” The elderly man sat down on the couch.

     Date took the chair across from Wajima, while Gotou remained standing, arms folded. “They’re still trying to manufacture new Phantoms, then?”

     Wajima nodded. “While completely breaking people’s will and rewriting their minds works in concept, it’s… Not as effective in practice.” At that moment, Shunpei returned with two women. “Ah, Rinko.”

     The tallest of the ladies came over and sat beside Wajima. “Date-san. It’s been awhile.”

     “Rinko-chan!” Date greeted her cheerfully,  looked at the other woman. “And who’s this?”

     The lady in question had stayed standing, assuming a pose similar to Gotou’s. “Inamori Mayu.” She told him shortly, eyeing both him and Gotou with suspicion.

     “Mayu’s a fairly recent recruit.” Rinko explained. “She and her twin were selected for ‘recreation.’ Only Mayu made it out.” Mayu didn’t react to Gotou’s look of something like pity. “She’s taken to being a… Sort of bodyguard for me.”

     “My impression was you didn’t need it, but I guess being careful doesn’t hurt.” Date frowned then, looking around. “But… Where are the other two?”

     Wajima and Rinko exchanged glances. “Haruto got a tip about the location of Patient Zero—or at least what’s left of her. Kousuke refused to let him go alone.” The woman told him. “But there’s no point worrying about them right now. Do you have everything?”

     Date nodded, taking the folded manifest out of his jacket and passing it to her. “You lot’d better appreciate this. We had a hell of a time getting it here.”

     Mayu bristled at his tone. “What’s that mean?”

     “Just that I’ve had a long day for someone who hasn’t had lunch.” He watched Rinko going through the list. “You guys have any more luck with local government?”

     Wajima shook his head. “Nothing concrete. And even after your Foundation lady called in that favour for us.”

     “Things were bound to be tough after the Amino incident…” Rinko mumbled offhandedly.

     Date’s head snapped up. “… Did you say ‘Amino’?”

* * *

     In the darkened bunk, Amino made another sound like a bull, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth together—it was only the second time he’d done it, but it seemed it was true it got easier each time.

* * *

     “Amino’s a Phantom?” Date demanded, panic rising.

     Rinko nodded. “Yes. He was sent undercover in the local Security Corps in an attempt to assassinate me.”

     “He’s Minotauros.” Wajima explained. “Big, strong, determined. Once he has a mission, he refuses to stop until he finishes it, or is given a different one.”

     “How did you guys get rid of him?”

     “I seem to recall Haruto managed to launch him into space?”

     “Could he have survived that?” Gotou asked quickly.

     The woman shrugged. “He was in Beast form, so maybe. What’s this about?”

     Date was already on his feet, fumbling with his communicator. “He’s on our goddamn ship!”

* * *

     Eiji had walked up to Amino’s door and away from it several times. He wasn’t sure what he was doing there. His original thought had been to see if he could get answers about Ankh’s behaviour from the Corporate, but the closer he’d gotten to the room, the dumber that had seemed. There was no reason for the agent to know anything about Ankh, much less what was making him antsy. The second idea had been to play good cop to what he presumed was Ankh’s bad—but then he didn’t actually know much about interrogation, and Satonaka had said that Corporates didn’t talk easily. He finally concluded that the entire thing was foolish and pointless, just centimetres away from knocking on the door, thinking better of it, and dropping his arm.

     Then the door exploded outward, sending him flying back into the wall, slamming his head, hard. He saw the hazy image of a large, horned creature barrelling past him right before everything went rather painful dark.

* * *

     Emu woke up with a loud yelp, almost rolling right off the bench cushions he’d been placed on in a tangle of blanket. Wide-eyed, he stared around at the infirmary like he didn’t believe he was really there.

     “You okay?” Hina asked gently, making him look at her.

     Seeing her hooked up to a machine on the bed seemed to knock him back to his senses, and he scrambled to his feet. “Sorry! I’m sorry! Are you okay? How are you feeling?”

     She laughed a little. “Geez, you remind me of Eiji. I’m okay, really. Just a little hungry.”

     “Of course.” He nodded seriously, then wandered to the door, pausing to look back at her. “I can, uh, get you something. Where’s the-”

     A huge, blue and white monster appeared behind him, grabbing the boy in a headlock so strong Hina could see him fighting to breath. The head swivelled upward, taking in her shocked expression. “Sorry about the bullet thing,” Growled a voice barely identifiable as Amino’s, “But what I do next will be a whole lot worse if you don’t keep quiet.” With that, he dragged the kicking intern away.

     Hina looked desperately around for the com station, cursing her unfamiliarity with the room—especially when she discovered it was on the wall furthest from her. After some flopping, she was able to just grab the edge of the counter, hooking her feet on the bed, and pulled with as much strength as she could muster.

     She knew it was working when she felt the bed move, the bolts holding it to the floor popping.

* * *

     “I’m trying to ask you a question.”

     “And I’m trying not to answer.” Hiiro had decided that since he was being kicked off the ship anyway, being on the bridge shouldn’t be an issue. The extremely grumpy blond in the pilot’s seat, however, apparently disagreed. “Why are you up here?”

     “Because you’re the only semi-authoritative crew member left on the ship.”

     “Ask Eiji.”

     “I did. He suggested asking you.”

     Ankh twirled his seat around, scowling. “How should I know when you’re supposed to get off.”

     “Do you know how long you’ll be here?”

     “No.”

     “Isn’t that something you should know?”

     “I usually know when we’re leaving because someone comes running on and yells for me to take off.”

     “That’s regular procedure?”

     “Kagami-sensei…” Hina’s voice drifted through the main com, strained and shaky, but urgent. “There was a… A thing… I… He took Hojo-san…”

     Hiiro’s blood froze. He whirled and raced out. Ankh hesitated for a moment, then jumped up and ran out himself, heading for the residential block.

     Both of them missed the outside communication alert.

* * *

     “No one’s picking up.” Date growled, then punched the buggy door hard enough to dent, looking over at Gotou, who was focused on pushing the vehicle to it’s speed limits. “Step on it.”

* * *

     Hiiro caught up with Amino and Emu in the cargo bay as the Corporate was slamming the buttons to open the hull doors. He calculated that he wouldn’t have time to make it down the stairs before the agent escaped, and so repeated Ankh’s earlier act of climbing over the catwalk rail and jumping down—with debatable success.

     He landed square on Amino, knocking Emu away from him and unbalancing the monster, sending him, too, sprawling across the floor. However, he also landed hard on his side, leaving him struggling to get to his feet while Amino rose. Emu hurried to his side, but Hiiro could see the intern’s knees shaking.

* * *

     Ankh found Eiji unconscious in the hall, bleeding from the head, and rushed to him. “Oi! Eiji! Eiji!”

     The other young man opened his eyes a bit, slowly. “… Ankh? I… Was walking by and… There was… Very blurry…”

     Ankh shook his head. “C’mon.” He slung Eiji’s arm over his shoulders while the brunet clutched at the steading swelling cut and bump on his head, and started guiding him back toward the core of the ship and the infirmary.

* * *

     In the cargo bay, Amino made it to his feet first and charged the two doctors; Hiiro used his good arm to shove Emu out of the way, but was knocked aside for it, sending another wave of pain as he landed once again on his previous injuries—he didn’t think anything was broken, but moving was agony, and he soon realised Amino was advancing on him once more.

     “Stay away from him!”

     They both froze and looked toward Emu. The intern had found a firearm somewhere, possibly hidden in the other supplies, and had it trained on Amino. With a snarl, the beast started toward him, but the boy fired once, hitting it rather deftly in the leg.

     Sinking to one knee, Amino reverted to his human form, holding up his hands. “Whoa. Easy kid, easy. You really wanna shoot a man and ruin your life? I don’t want to hurt anyone, okay?” At that moment, Ankh supporting the injured Eiji arrived on the balcony above them. “C’mon. After all Kagami and Kujo gave up for you, you really want to just throw it away?”

     Emu frowned, the gun wavering as his eyes flicked to Hiiro for a moment. “What about…?” Seeing his distraction however, Amino lunged forward, morphing back into his monster form.

     He never made it.

     Three bullets hit him simultaneously in the abdomen, chest, and head, and he dropped to the ground halfway through his transformation. Bewildered, Hiiro looked over his shoulder, blinking at the silhouettes behind him. Not only had Date and Gotou arrived with weapons raised, but Satonaka stood on the semi-Captain’s other side, also holding a gun. As the three holstered their weapons and came in, Hiiro forced himself to his feet, hobbling over to Emu and trying to get him to let go of the gun.

     The intern just looked at him with a horrified expression. “What did he mean about Kiriya?” The surgeon searched for an answer while Gotou and Date, working together, lifted Amino’s corpse and threw him out of the bay doors. Then Gotou went upstairs and took Eiji’s other side, helping the blond carry him out. He still didn’t have anything by the time Date came over and took the gun from Emu, made an impressed sound,a nd walked away.

     Finally, Hiiro managed, “I’ll explain in the room.” He limped a couple steps toward the stairwell, but then Emu came and took his arm, helping him along. Still, he couldn’t stop wondering how the intern was going to take the news.

* * *

     Satonaka was heading up herself when Shoutarou cut her off. “We need to talk.” He said firmly.

     She smirked. “I agree. You know where I was? I went to see an old colleague called Kizaki. Name ring any bells?” When he didn’t react, she continued. “Then how about this one, Hidari-san? Ever heard of Narumi Sokichi?” Shoutarou’s face abruptly went very blank, and his hand froze on his hat. “I thought so. I’ll come see you upstairs!” She smiled and slipped past him, continuing up the steps and around the corner.

**_What’s the matter? Are you broken? Did she break you?_ **

     Shoutarou scowled, scuffing his foot on the step in frustration. “Ah, mou! Shut up, Philip.” Still grumbling, he turned and followed Satonaka.

* * *

     It was chilly in the deeper reaches of the Genm Inc., enough that both men could see their breath, despite the fact that neither of them could really feel cold anymore. One of them was busy typing furiously, the other pouring sugar from a large pile of sweetener and creamers into coffee without really looking.

     “Are you actually writing anything, or just hitting buttons?”

     The typer’s head twitched, tilting sideways. “Silence!”

     “Right, right, right…” The one embellishing his coffee grabbed another packet of sugar. “I’m just saying, it looks like you’re just smacking the keyboard. You sure you know what you’re doing?”

     The other man stopped in his frantic hand motions, whirling the chair around and shooting to his feet. Even though the coffee jumped, it’s owner did not when the typer slammed both hands down on the table.

     “Do not underestimate my genius! Kujo Kiriya!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of reveals in this chapter.  
> You get three guesses as to who Kiriya is talking to, and the first two don't count.  
> Poor Shoutarou now has to deal with snarking in his head 24/7.  
> And Gotou's secretly a sweetie! Who knew? (Me. I knew.)


	6. Cooporation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With some new information, Genm Corp decides to take a slightly different tactic...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here! And it, uh, still sucks. But ya know.  
> So, continuing from that little plunge we took into the Corporation, we get most of a chapter with these jackasses! Yay!  
> In other news, I can't write Kuroto and Kiriya **anywhere near** as hilarious they are in the show. So just, uh... Pretend it's Tetsuya and Hayato acting it out? Anything those two do together is funny...
> 
>  
> 
> NOTE: I spelled the title that way on purpose. It's a terrible pun and I hate myself.

     When the com rang at four am local time, Kujo Kiriya flailed around and punched it accidentally before pressing the correct button. “Dead People Incorporated, this is a dead person, how may I help you die?”

     “Hilarious.” Sneered the voice on the other end. “Where is Kuroto?”

     Rolling off the couch he’d been lying on, the coroner got to his feet, picking up his jacket and grabbing the com detachment from the wall. “Oi! Kami! It’s your Dad!” When there was no response, he paused and listened for the sound of his housemate’s ridiculous typing, following it into the next room. Walking over, he leaned against the desk, waving the com in his face. “I said it’s your father, and he still doesn’t think I’m funny.”

     Without really looking, Dan Kuroto grabbed the com and tossed it onto the desk, continuing his overly dramatic impression of typing. “What is it?” He demanded dismissively

     “I want you at headquarters. Given some new intel we’ve received, there will instead be a joint operation between us in the main branch and another department. As the developer of the Bugster System, you **will** be there.”

     There was an extra edge in the final command—one that made Kuroto’s hands freeze mid-typing. He tilted his head, glaring at the com as if it were actually his father. “I have no interest in your ‘meetings.’” He hissed icily, in an uncharacteristically controlled tone. “Send someone else.”

     The response was a loud, disapproving sigh. “Kujo-”

     “He’s not going anywhere either. I need him.”

     “See?” Kiriya folded his arms, lording over the com. “He needs me. Wait.” He looked sharply at Kuroto. “Need me for what?”

     Kuroto didn’t look at him. “You and I are the only people to have this reaction to normally fatal exposure to the system. Deciphering the reason for that is analysing one of the subjects. It is difficult to study myself.”

     “Great. I’m a guinea pig.” He leaned on his elbow on the desk to talk into the com. “This is what happens when you leave him in a basement like this. He turns into a weird recluse who can’t person properly. If you’d like some parenting books, I knew a guy-”

     “Ugh. Fine. Fine. I will have someone else attend and inform you of the proceedings. **However** ,” The older man’s voice became a snarl, “You do **not** get out of this, Kuroto. Not until you figure out why you two are still alive and why Subject EXA didn’t disappear. And you **will** help us recover him.” There was a sharp burst of static as the connection was cut.

     Kiriya picked the com up gingerly, juggling it. “Wow. Not hard to see where you get the lack of humour from.” Pausing, he looked over his at Kuroto. “Hey. Are you really going to let them take Emu again?”

     It was the umpteenth time he’d asked that question during their time of forced cohabitation, and Kuroto gave no more answer than he had before, but it was also the first time he’d swear he honestly saw the younger Dan hesitate.

     He hoped that it hadn’t been his imagination.

* * *

     “He wants **me** to go?” She waited for a long moment to see if there would be a punchline or switch. “I’m… I’m not technically part of the Corporation.”

     “You are one of only two people Kuroto-sama listens to with any regularity, Pipopapo-san,” Explained the woman, “Masamune-saichou believes it would be prudent for you to receive and deliver the information.”

     “Just tell them yes, Poppy.” Growled one of the two men in the room, tall and classically handsome, who was pacing from wall to wall. “Then maybe they’ll leave.”

     Poppy made a face at him. “Don’t tell me what to do, Graphite. I’m still older than you.” But looking back at the secretary, she smiled. “I’d, uh, be happy to attend.” The woman handed her a large file and left.

     Graphite stalked over to peer over her shoulder at it. “What’s this about? The runaway host?” Glancing at each other, both of them then turned to look at the third person in the room, who was sitting atop the table in the back, playing on some handheld screen. “Huh.” Graphite grunted, looking back at the file. “Wonder if they’re finally deploying us on that. I’m starting to get antsy cooped up in here.”

     “They’ll send us.” Both Poppy and Graphite looked up at their companion, though his attention didn’t seem to have wavered. That didn’t change when he continued. “They have to.”

     Graphite exchanged a glance with Poppy, both of them checking each other’s expressions for discomfort—it was impossible to know what would set the kid off, even with them. “… What do you mean, Parad?” Graphite finally asked, shrugging at Poppy when she jabbed him in the side.

     Parad responded by chuckling—an unsettling sound. Setting his game aside, he uncrossed his legs, dangling his feet over the edge of the table he sat on and kicking them like a little boy, smiling in a way that should have been innocent but was instead sinister, tilting his head to the side.

     “Because he’s mine. And I don’t like to share.”

* * *

     “He’s mine.”

     The man in the green leather jacket stirred from the lethargic stupor he’d been in when his bleach blond seat neighbour spoke suddenly. “… What?”

     “The goddamn bird. He’s mine.”

     “You’re still on about that, Kazari?” The jacketed man grumbled, sitting up. “Can’t we at least have a shuttle ride in peace.”

     Kazari responded with a hiss, folding his legs up into his seat and scowling sourly. “You wouldn’t understand, Uva.”

     “I understand that you’re being melodramatic.”

     Kazari’s eyes narrowed at the condescending tone, and he growled angrily, actually baring his teeth and tensing to spring while Uva braced—

     “That’s enough, boys.” They both froze and looked across the shuttle at the owner of the voice that had interrupted them, a slim, very young woman in a blue dress. “Didn’t I tell you to be on your best behaviour?”

     From her other side, another, larger man leaned forward, peering at them like a young child. “You should listen to Mezool.”

     “Shut up, Gamel.” Both Uva and Kazari spat in sync, then glared at each other accusingly.

     “Don’t agree with me,” Uva muttered. “It makes me uncomfortable.”

     “How do you think it makes **me** feel?” Kazari wanted to know.

     “Mezool, if you would be kind enough to separate them?” Asked the suited, bespectacled man sitting next to the pilot. “My patience has become quite thin.”

     Mezool sighed disappointedly, but despite Gamel’s whining and her own reluctance, got up from her seat and moved across the aisle. “Whatever you say, Doctor.” She muttered, the motioned for Uva to get up.

     Uva, however, glanced between her and Gamel uncomfortably. “Seriously? You want me to sit next to **him**?”

     “It’s either that or you two keep your mouths shut for the rest of the ride. Your choice.”

     Uva shifted around in his seat uncomfortably, trying to weigh the situation—he’d only had to sit next to Kazari was because Gamel had hauled Mezool over next to him, and had only just managed to settle into an almost-nap a hour ago when Kazari’s grumbling had paused. But Gamel had the potential to be worse, as he would never stop complaining about not getting to sit next to Mezool like he’d wanted.

     Leaning sideways, he looked up to the front where the Doctor and pilot were sitting. “Oi! How much longer is this flight going to be?”

     The man in the white suit didn’t bother to look back. “We’re about thirty minutes from the Genm Station.”

     Uva frowned, then shook his head to Mezool. “I’ll just stay here and ignore him.” He jerked his head at Kazari, and felt the bleach blond glaring daggers at his head. Mezool just shrugged again, heading back across the aisle, where Gamel happily handed her a candy from the three large bags he had in his lap. As she did that, Uva searched through his jacket for his earbuds, putting them in and retrieving the old-style music player he’d only half stolen from the Capricorn Zodiarts. He could keep himself distracted for thirty minutes

* * *

     In the end, the rest of the ride was largely uneventful, though Uva nigh bolted from his seat as soon as t hey had finished docking, and only made it off the shuttle first because Kazari had been stuck behind him. As Mezool persuaded Gamel to leave as well, the Doctor collected himself—or rather, the ugly doll sitting on his arm.

     “You’ve got quite the team here, Doc.” The pilot commented, leaning back and rolling his shoulders.

     “I am well aware.”

     The suited man laughed. “Don’t sweat it. I’ve bused the Sonozaki family around. These guys have nothing on those sisters.”

     The Doctor merely huffed and left the shuttle without a word, making the other man shrug again, shaking his head.

* * *

     They’d all set up haphazardly around the table. Try as she might, Mezool couldn’t get either Kazari or Uva to sit properly—the green-jacketed Greeed continued to slouch, while the bleach blond insisted on crouching on the seat rather than acting like a normal person. Even Gamel had brought his whole candy collection along and dumped it on the table—leaving the Doctor and Mezool as the only even partially presentable ones.

     They’d only been settled for about five minutes when Poppy joined them, knocking on the door and peering in before entering, clutching the files to her chest. She’d decided it would be better to attend in her less colourful appearance—might as well make use of a skill that only she had. As a result, she’d traded her pink look for a pinstripe suit and turned her hair a shade of dark brown. She quickly shuffled into a seat across from the other girl at the table, in blue with the sleek hair. She smiled, nodding politely, but only the big guy eating candy responded, waving back at her like an excited child until the girl reached over and pushed his hand down.

     Fortunately, she was spared more awkwardness by the arrival of Masamune himself and his secretary, who followed him like a shadow as a he stalked over to the head of the conference table, sitting down in the chair there with at the grandeur of a king assuming his throne. Even then, there was silence for an extended moment.

     “It was a lit of trouble to get everyone out here.” The Doctor said, finally shattering the quiet, though he was looking at the doll on his arm rather than Masamune. “I certainly hope you were honest about the situation.”

     “I have no reason to fabricate.” Masamune replied evenly, motioning to his secretary. The woman produced a file from the pile she held, passing it across the table. The Doctor peered inside, frowning. “In the meantime,” Masamune continued, slightly louder. “As this will be an extended operation, it is necessary to introduce ourselves.” He looked pointedly at Poppy.

     She was confused for a moment, then gave another half bow across the table. “Ah, sorry. I’m Poppy Pipopapo. I-”

     “The DoReMiFaBeat Bugster will be acting as a liaison for the developer of the Bugster System, who is otherwise engaged at the moment.” Masamune cut her off smoothly.

     Setting the file aside, the Doctor sighed, looking back up at his doll. “I am Doctor Maki. I perfected the Medal System.” Poppy vaguely remembered reading about that—one of the Corporation’s initial attempts at living weapons. Maki, meanwhile, merely waved dismissively at the four people with him. “These are the Greeed. Most of them, at least.” His free hand drifted to lay on top of the file he’d been handed. “And soon we’ll have them all again.”

     The bleach blond one leaned forward curiously, hands on the table. “So it’s true? You really found Ankh?” That seemed to have the other Greeed interested as well.

     Masamune nodded. “Before we lost contact, the Phantom who tracked down EXA was able to identify the Bird Class Greeed with complete certainty. Not to mention some other old friends of yours.” The CEO clasped his hands together on the table. “The ship is owned by the Kougami Foundation—that little startup that used to be contracted to us before the director threw a fit. They even had the nerve to call the damn bucket _TaJaDor_.” A chilly edge of disgusted crept into Masamune’s voice. Poppy actually inched away from him.

     “Wasn’t that Ankh’s designation?” Mezool asked, and received a nod from the secretary when Masamune neglected to recognise she’d spoken.

     “So there’s a plan, I’m assuming?” Uva demanded.

     Masamune didn’t answer him, either, and finally Doctor Maki repeated the question—in a slightly less cantankerous manner. Though it had been addressed to the doll, not him, it was Maki’s question that the CEO finally answered. “Of course. This will be a joint action on the part of both departments, since I’m well aware that the best way to handle one Greeed is with another.” He took a deep breath. “That is why I’m going to have you handle the rest of the crew, Doctor Maki. It should also provide some… Closure for you.”

     “Not to mention new opportunities in research.” Maki replied with exception tranquility. “I fully intend to melt down the Bird Class’s components to see if I can… Improve the design.”

     Masamune chuckled, but Poppy noticed two of the Greeed with Maki eyeing him disapprovingly—the girl and the man in the green jacket. The large man eating candy hadn’t seemed to notice, neither had the bleach blond, who was huddled in the chair, muttering to himself. She herself also found the declaration disturbing.

     Masamune did not wait for anyone to voice opinions, however. “In regards to reclaiming the escaped Host, Subject EXA…” He glanced at Poppy, “It seems to me it’s time to formally mobilise the Bugster Soldiers.”

     Poppy blinked. “Eh? But so far, there’s only been three-” She paused, recalculating. “… Two even semi-successful materialisations. One, if you don’t count whatever’s going on with Parad and…” She broke off when she noticed him staring pointedly at her. Glancing at the Greeed, and falling silent.

     The CEO promptly went on like she hadn’t spoken. “I’ll have you briefed on the details of the mission within the hour. In the meantime, please feel free to take care of any business you may have at the Station.” Rising, he swept out of the room, gesturing for Poppy to accompany him. Scrambling to her feet, she bowed in farewell to the guests before rushing after him.

* * *

     “Saichou, with all due respect,” Poppy began, once the door had closed, then paused in order to catch up to Masamune. “I don’t think the Poject is ready for mobilisation. There’s only been three— **two** even **semi** -successful manifestations! All the others have been too unstable. And that’s counting Parad!”

     The CEO stopped in front of the elevator, letting his secretary press the buttons. “We’re not using Parad. Until we can ascertain why his host didn’t disappear, he’s the most unstable.”

     “You’re planning on sending Graphite out there alone?”

     When the doors opened, the CEO stepped into the elevator box, turning calmly to face her as his secretary pushed the buttons again. “I brought you into this to wrangle my son, DoReMiFaBeat, not ask questions. Don’t try to get involved with things that are above you.”

     He then leaned over and the pressed the button himself to shut the doors in her face.

* * *

     The five of them sat in silence for a bit; eventually, Doctor Maki got up and left without so much as a word.

     “… So what?” Uva growled, as soon as the door had closed, and the Doctor’s steps moved out of earshot. “We’re just an afterthought?”

     “We are one of the older designs.” Mezool reminded him.

     Uva scoffed, shaking his head. “Melting down… We actually gonna go through with this?” Gamel just blinked at him; Mezool shrugged, but looked equally as disgruntled.

     “I just want Ankh,” Kazari hissed.

* * *

     Ankh actually jolted up in bed for the first time in ages—promptly smacking his head hard on the ceiling of his and Eiji’s quarters, which at least had the benefit of turning what had been a terrified yelp from a nightmare into grunts of pain. Eiji was woken anyway, but it was easier to pass off the sound as a reaction to banging his head than what it had actually been.

     “Ankh?” He could hear Eiji fumbling in the dark, his voice worried and slightly panicked. “Are you alright?”

     “I’m fine!” Ankh snapped quickly, dearly hoping Eiji wouldn’t turn on the light—he wasn’t sure he could come up with an appropriately surly expression in time. “Just slipped and bumbled my head is all. I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

     Eiji was quiet for a long moment, and still as well, before finally mumbled something that sounded like ‘if you say so,’ and Ankh heard him lie down and roll back over. Waiting an extra moment to be sure his roommate wouldn’t stir, Ankh lay back down himself, rolling on to his own side. He figured he might as well go through the motions, though he doubted he’d fall back asleep that night.

     It had been a nasty, creeping dream, scuttling up from the darker reaches of his memory. A dream of boxes, cages, prying eyes, longing, cold, and loneliness.

     And cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the Greeed!  
> And a brief appearance by Asuna (though I just called her Poppy)! Poor Poppy, she's stuck with these people...  
> Masamune is awful, Kuroto types like a madman, Gamel just wants to sit with Mezool, Uva and Kazari drive each other nuts, and poor Ankh is having nightmares. About cats.  
> Also, A Fourze reference!


End file.
